Sense Of Belonging
by VintageFlower01
Summary: Gabriella moved back to Albuquerque after being sent away to boarding school for most of her life. Now 19 she has a lot of catching up to do with all her friends. But she has seemed to have caught the attention of a blue eyes boy who she had never met before. She already knew his 'player' reputation but is she strong enough to resist it? How will she know if he truly loves her?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, this is a new story and I am still currently writing it. I tend to have a habbit of getting bored and not finishing the story but I am going to do everything in my will power to finish the story! It's like my goal! Some of the things I mentioned are made up for example going to University in America but I don't really know so lets just go with it. Sorry for any spelling mistakes or grammar, I just hope you can make it out.**

 **Think of this story like a clash between Neighbours and High School Musical...except there's no angry neighbours XD I meant in Zac's Character sorta way. Anyways, on with the story...**

 **Sense of Belonging**

Chapter 1- Party In The USA

Gabriella P.O.V  
I stepped outside of the airport pulling my large black suitcase behind me. I looked up at the darkening sky and closed my eyes breathing in the warm air. A smile grew on my face. Home. I am finally home. I missed this place so much! There are so many memories

 **HONK!HONK!**

The sound of a car beeping drew me away from my thoughts. I looked up and my eyes followed the sound and I was soon met with a bright pink car. Before I could even comprehend what was going on, I was pulled into a bone crushing hug.

When she pulled away, I finally got a good look at her. She had blonde hair that flowed halfway down her back. Her big brown eyes went well with her long eyelashes. I scanned her over. She was in good shape but that wasn't the thing that caught my attention. It was her outfit. She was wearing a cute white leather mini skirt with a light pink short sleeve crop top. To finish her outfit off, she had white strap heels. I look at her in confusion.

"Wow Sharpay, you really like to dress up," I giggle. She rolls her eyes at me and pulls me into another hug.

"Aw Ella I missed you so much!" She squeaks and I smile. She pulls me to her car and puts my suitcase in the back.

I sit in the passenger seat and look around as Sharpay speeds off down the road. Wow, Ryan was not kidding when he said Sharpay was like a real life barbie doll.

"We have so much to catch up on!" Sharpay tells me. I nod my head with a huge smile stuck on my face.  
It's good to be home.

You're probably wondering what is going on right now and you probably have a lot of questions.  
Well, my name is Gabriella Marie Montez and this whole crazy roller coaster ride started around 9 years ago. There was a girl in my school. Her name was Raven Herandez. She was the same age as me (so 10 years old). She was tricked into taking drugs or something like that and she wasn't really focusing on where she was going and she walked out onto the road and well, she got hit by a car and she sadly passed away. Being that the town we live in is rather small everyone was effected deeply by the accident. Anyway, when my mom found out about that, well, let's just say she went into panic mode and became way too protective.

So, she sent me to a boarding school in England in fear that the same thing could happen to me. Which I thought was a little unfair because my older brother Tyler. He's 20 now (only a year older than me) , well he didn't have to go. I always asked mom why but she said it's because he's a guy and he knows how to handle himself or whatever. Kinda sexist but anyway, moving on.

I was a little annoyed with my mom for a good year or two. She sent her only daughter away without a second thought because she thought she was protecting me but being without her love and protection up close sorta done the opposite. Thankfully, I am quite a wise person and I knew what was morally right and what was not. I eventually forgave my mom as I knew she had my best interest at heart. It's not exactly the route I would take with my own future children, but hey, we all deal with fear in our own ways.

I'm not sure what my mom thought England was like, but during the weekends we did get to do what we wanted and so I partied (yeahh, dunno if that's true lol). Could you blame me? I was a growing teen exploring the world with no family or any guidance to tell me right from wrong. England parties are not just a tea party and all that crap. It's pretty crazy. But I was careful to not get my drink spike or any of that shit.

Anyway, since I have finally turned 19 and I have finished all of my studies and just sorted some things out, I have finally come back. I can still remember my way home from different pl-

Wait, this isn't the way home.

"Pay, where are we going?" I ask her generally confused. I turn to face her and notice an distinctive grin on her face. We soon enter the gates of a very familiar mansion and park the car. I definitely recognise this mansion as The Evan's Mansion.

"Sharpayyyyy?" I ask dragging out the ending a bit. She parks her car and turns to face me.

"We, my darling, are going to a FRAT PARTY," Sharpay squealed. My brows furrow together as Sharpay sits there all giddy in her seat.

"Pay, I just got home so I kind of wanted to, oh I don't know, see my mom and brother. And even if I wanted to, my mom would never let me!" I explain as we continue to sit in Sharpay's bright car debating about this. _I mean what was she thinking, I got sent away for a reason. Did she really think I could just go out to some party?_

"Oh come on! You're going to have so much time to catch up with your mom and Tyler and besides it was sort of your mom's idea for me to take you out and have fun. She thought it would be a great way for you to spend your first night back," Sharpay explained. I snorted. _Yeah right._

"That sounds nothing like my mom. Remember, she was the one who sent me away in the first place to not get mixed up with parties and all that," I reminded her. Sharpay shook her head and did a slight eye roll.

"Elle, every parent back then went into the over protective mode after finding out what had happened. It's just your mom took this protectiveness to some really drastic measures. But with some longgggg discussions, Tyler, Taylor and I managed to ease her out of that crazy mode and into a chill mother mode. But you still had to finish your studies in England so you couldn't come back just yet. Which was a shame. Because we all missed you lots!" Sharpay rambled on. I let out a soft chuckle and shook my head.

"And your point it?..." I continued.

"My point is, Missy, that after a year or two when parents began to learn to trust not only their kids but other people as well, did the whole town slowly, and I mean very slowly, get out of the over protective mode," Sharpay explained.

I stared at Sharpay for a moment going over all the options in my head.

"Andddd, you will still get to see your brother," Sharpay added. My eyebrows furrowed together again in confusion.

"You're brother is part of the brotherhood of the frat house or whatever it is called," Sharpay explained. My eyebrows rose up high as a shocked expression took over my face.

"No Wayyy!" I half asked half stated. Sharpay nodded her head. I pouted. _How was that fair? Gee what did they put in my mom's drink to get her to agree to this?_

"No fair, I get sent away for the risk of getting caught up in shit like this but Tyler actually gets to be part of the brotherhood. Sexist. Very Sexist!" I whined. Sharpay just giggled. A grin matching Sharpay's one broke out onto my face as I nodded my head.

"Okay then! Let's do this!" I cheered. Sharpay smiled and clapped her hands.

"Great! Let's go inside, get ready and then head over there!" Sharpay squealed. I simply giggled and rolled my eyes at my overly excited best friend.  
-

Gabriella stood outside the Cappa house and saw that the party was already in full swing. There already drunk people snogging on the front lawn, empty beer cans scatted everywhere, a spare tire on the front lawn, and well, basically random shit everywhere.

Gabriella looked down at her outfit. She nodded in approval. Finally after searching Sharpay's walk in wardrobe like 10 times, she found some clothes more her style buried way back deep underneath all her other pink sparkly clothes.

She settled for a maroon coloured crop top which was quite low cut but had laces threading in and out in between her 'V' cut. She wore a black leather pencil skirt which she pulled up to look high waisted. This also meant that is rested a little higher than half way down her thighs. She finished her look with black leather converses to give the look a more casual vibe and she also let Sharpay gave her a little make over. Gabriella was reluctant at first but it was kinda their deal seeing as Sharpay still disapproved of Gabriella's outfit as it had no pink on it or no sparkles. So, she had a small winged eyeliner, mascara and her lips were slightly tinted a dark red.

Sharpay walked up to her Latina friend wearing a pink skirt with a white sparkly shirt which tucked into the skirt and that was matched with pink strappy heels. _Why she had to change her outfit, I dunno._ Sharpay wore a huge grin and linked arms with Gabriella and dragged her into the party.

They squeezed past all the drunk people dancing and managed to make their way to the bar.  
Sharpay grabbed two beers and shoved one into Gabriella's hands. She gulped down nearly half of it. She forgot to hydrate when she was at Sharpay's and she was feeling a little dry.

Suddenly a dark skinned girl squealed as she wrapped her arms around Gabriella. Gabriella looked pretty stunned at first not knowing who it was. When the girl pulled away, Gabriella's eyes grew wide and she pulled the girl back into another hug.

"Taylor! Oh my god! It's been forever!" Gabriella squealed. Taylor nodded.

"I have missed you so much! We have so much to catch up on!" Taylor replied, she suddenly smirked.

"But right now, let's hit the dance floor! I love this song!" Taylor added and before they could say anything, Taylor had pulled both Gabriella and Sharpay to the dance floor and began to sway their body with to the song Cheap Thrills by Sia. Sharpay and Gabriella both happily joined her dancing on and on to the different songs after.

After a while, Gabriella felt the need for another drink. She gestured towards the bar so Taylor and Sharpay knew where she would be at. They nodded at her and continued to dance.

Gabriella grabbed a drink from the pyramid of cups and gulped it down.

"How come I have never seen you round here before?" A low husky voice asked. Gabriella turned to see a guy leaned against the bar next to her staring at her. He had bright blue eyes that seemed to sparkle more than a diamond with thick shaggy sandy brown hair. He wore a black polo which hugged his perfectly toned body and dark blue trousers which he matched with black vans. He was in pretty good shape and looked **FIT!**

"Maybe you've just been too busy to notice," Gabriella replied with a small smirk. He smirked and chuckled.

"Not possible, I defiantly would have noticed you," The guy responded as his eyes roamed over her chest, flat stomach and right down to her tanned (Because of her skin colour in general) toned legs.

Gabriella smirked and opened her mouth to say something but a commotion in the garden grabbed both their attention. The hot guy before her furrowed his brows in confusion before he made his way through the sliding doors and into the garden. Curiosity got the best of Gabriella so she chose to follow him.

There was a small group of people circling around two other people. They were chanting 'fight' and other things. Gabriella squeezed her way through the crowd until she was at the front.

There were two boys throwing punches at each other, rolling around on the floor with one being on top before getting knocked back to the floor by the other and so on and so on. One of them had pure black hair with killer grey eyes. He was in some good shape but nothing compared to the guy she was talking to earlier. The other guy had tanned skin, dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. In fact, he actually looked a lot like- wait a minute. TYLER?!

"TYLER!" She yelled trying to be heard over the top of all the shouting and the music in the distance.

Tyler was on top of the other boy throwing a few punches when his killer brown eyes snapped up to look at the owner of that voice. He recognised that voice but it was like he hadn't heard it in so long. His eyes locked with hers and they immediately began to soften when he recognised that, that particular voice belonged to his sister who he hadn't seen in a quite a while. He opened his mouth to reply when he felt a hard blow to the chest. He was knocked off of the other guy and scrambled to his feet before they both charged back at each other.

Troy was watching curiously to the side. Normally, he would have immediately intervened but he was too lost in his thoughts by what he had witnessed. He obviously knew that they knew each other but who was she? How did they know each other? Why hasn't Tyler ever mentioned this fit Latina before?  
Seeing that the fight was beginning to get even more heated than it already was, Gabriella decided to try and stop them again.

"TYLER, STOP!" She yelled again. But they didn't. This time, he didn't even respond to her voice. Oh boy she was sick of this. She was not going to be like those girls in the movie who just stand to the side screaming hopeless words at the two people fighting instead of actually doing something about it.

She began to storm towards the two of them when she felt a hand grip her arm. She saw in the corner of her eyes that it was that fit boy she was talking to. She simply shrugged him off and continued to storm towards them.

She gripped each of their arms and tried with all her might to pry the two boys apart.

"Guys that's enough now!" Gabriella yelled still trying her best to get in between the two. Ugh, this is just getting annoying now! Now being an alone girl in England, she had learnt a few things about self defence not only just from the friends she eventually made but from real life experiences and she hated to use them, but drastic times call for drastic measures.

Gabriella gripped one hand on each of their ears tightly and yanked them away from one another. She watched as both of their faces screwed up in pain as they tried to get her hands off. Once they were off each other and clearly distracted from the fight did she let them go.

They both were ready give a piece of their mind to whoever pulled them away but as soon as Tyler's eyes locked with Gabriella's angry ones, his face softened. He was half scared yet half happy to see her.

"What the fuck was that?" The other boy snapped angrily. Gabriella turned her attention to the other boy.

"What the fuck was that? What the fuck was THAT?!" Gabriella replied as her hands pointed to the two of them as she looked at them with raised eyebrows and a clearly pissed off look on her face.

"Seriously, once you guys have stopped measuring each other's dicks, you can grow up and start acting so immature," Gabriella responded earning a few 'oohs' and snickers from the small crowd gathered around them. She simply just ignored them. It was not like she wanted to be known as this awesome bad ass girl or whatever but she could already tell that this fight must have been about something pointless.

The two embarrassed boys looked away in anger and embarrassment.

Troy chuckled to himself and clearly saw his buddy was in need of saving so he finally decided to step in.

"Okay guys, I think we've seen enough," He said as he stepped into the little circle gathered around the three. Everyone still stood in their same position watching carefully.

"MOVE!" Troy yelled making everyone jump as they all scattered away. The other kid ran off as well leaving Troy, Gabriella and Tyler.

"Seriously Ty, what the fuck was that about?" Gabriella questioned him getting right up in his face. Tyler refused to look in her eyes.

"He stole some hot bird I was obviously hitting on and so, I had to do something to save my rep," Tyler responded.

"Oh wow," Gabriella scoffed and just simply walked back inside. That was the stupidest thing she had ever heard.

Troy made his way over to Tyler and chuckled whilst placing a hand on his shoulder. They made their way to the sofa outside just as a fuzzy afro was seen making it's way through the crowd towards them.

"Yo dude, you alright?" Chad asked Tyler as they all collapsed onto the couch.

"Yeah, just a little blood but no serious damage done," Tyler responded. They nodded their head, happy with the answer.

"So dude, how do you know that hot chick and why have you not introduced her," Troy questioned. Tyler gave them all an 'are-you-serious' look which Chad and Troy responded with puzzled faces.

"That's Gabi," Tyler told them. Something clicked in both Troy and Chad as they shot up with their eyes wide open and their brows probably long gone from their forehead.

"Wait, that's Geeky-Gabi?" Chad asked to which Tyler just rolled his eyes and nodded knowing they didn't mean any harm from the nickname.

"The girl in those photos you've shown us that had big purple glasses on, a head brace, braids and a large back pack?" Chad continued to ask and Tyler just simply nodded.

"Guys, that photo was back when she was only like 10 years old. I don't have a lot of recent pics of her seeing as she was in London. Remember, I told you guys about her," Tyler continued.

"Yeah but I didn't think she was going to look like that," Troy responded by pointing to the direction she left in earlier. Tyler opened his voice to respond but was cut off.

"What, you still expected me to be carrying that Dora The Explorer back pack around?" Gabriella asked with a slight smirk knowing she had caught him out. She stood behind the sofa they were sat on meaning they were facing away from her.

Troy inwardly cringed as he turned around to see her standing a meter or two behind them.

"No...it's just...you know...I didn't...," Troy began to which she just chuckled as she made her way round to stand in front of them instead.

"Chill, we all have our bad moments," She replied before then turning to Tyler holding a pack of frozen peas.

"Here, for your face," Gabriella told him as she shoved the pack closer to his face. He took it and gave her a nod of thanks.

"Is that anyway to greet your sister after 9 years of not seeing her?" Gabriella asked sarcastically with a fake pout. Tyler chuckled and stood up to engulf her in a hug.

"Hey Gabs. How ya been?" He asked as he pulled away.

"Oh you know, great except for the fact I had to stop this stupid fight earlier," Gabriella added. Tyler chuckled softly before sitting back down on the sofa.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Tyler told her and she nodded. Gabriella gave a soft smile before turning her attention to Troy and Chad.

Chad cleared his throat to get Tyler's attention to which he caught on.

"Uh, Troy, Chad this is Gabriella, my little sister. Gabriella, this is Troy and Chad. The President and Co-President of the Cappa House," Tyler introduced. Gabriella chuckled.

"Deary me, where are my manners? It's an honor to be in your presence," Gabriella faked gasped as she curtsied. The guys all chuckled slightly. She stood up straight again and simply shook their hands with a slight chuckle too.

Gabriella gulped slightly as her hand came in contact with Troy's. There was no denying there was some sort of spark she felt as her skin touched his. It seemed he felt the same thing too as he looked up at her with slightly widened eyes.

When Gabriella's hand came in contact with Troy's it was like Troy's heart had skipped a beat as the spark shot round his body. Her hand was so soft, so delicate so small. He could only imagine what her skin in other places felt like. Troy looked up and locked eyes with her and gulped slightly.

Her eyes. They were so big and brown and well, so innocent. All her emotions shone in her eyes making it easy for Troy to read her emotions. He could see shock and fear in her eyes. _What was she scared of? Me? The feeling we most likely both felt as we held hands? Or was it just the shock of the fight earlier on?_ However, their was also a soft glow in her eyes that Troy had never noticed before. Excitement? He couldn't really tell that one.

After realising they were still holding one an-others hand, Gabriella cleared her throat and pulled back her hand as did Troy and looked in every other direction that was not Troy's eyes.

"I'll, um, see you guys around. I left Taylor and Sharpay in there," Gabriella stuttered as she took small steps away from them towards the door not turning her backs from them.

"Wait, Taylor's here?" Chad rushed out. Gabriella nodded and giggled as she then turned away from them and headed inside.

Troy watched her retreating figure. Her legs looked just as good from the back as they did from the front. Her hips swayed slightly. Whether she did that on purpose or not was unknown to Troy. But her giggle had hooked him to her. It was like music to his ears. He'd give anything to hear her giggle again. _I mean uh what? No, I'm President of the Cappa House. I'm a playboy with a reputation and that's how it's always been and that's how it will continue to be._

As she approached the door, she turned back to face him. Troy sat their frozen as their eyes were connected. Brown meeting blue again. He physically couldn't draw his eyes away. She sent him a soft smile before opening the door and walking inside.

After a few moments of just staring at the door, Troy turned back round.

"You alright hoops? You look sorta out of it," Chad asked. Troy snapped his attention towards Chad before giving a slight nod still lost in this daze he had been captivated in.

"Okay well, if any of you hurt Gabi in any way, you will have me to answer to," Tyler told them. They both gave a nod before heading inside to party the night away.

Later on in Gabriella's home.

"Okay mom. Goodnight. Love you," Gabriella yelled from her bedroom door as she shut it closed.

Her blonde, and slightly drunk friend stumbled her way to Gabriella's bed and just fell back on it. Gabriella joined her in the process.

After lying there with their eyes closed for a second, Sharpay turned her head to her right to look at Gabriella. She noticed that Gabriella had this small smile on her face.

"What's with you?" Sharpay asked her. Gabriella faced Sharpay.

"What? Nothing," Gabriella replied as she faced the ceiling again. Sharpay continued to study her friend. _Still too giddy for the Gabriella I know._

"Is anything to do with the oh-so-famous Troy Bolton?" Sharpay asked. Gabriella looked at Sharpay then back at the ceiling.

 _Bolton huh? So that's his last name. Suits him._

"Nooo. Nothing is going on between us," Gabriella told her. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie. Apart from the conversation, they didn't really talk again through out the party. However they had locked eyes quite a few times and maybe a flirty smile was added here and there.

Sharpay continued to eye Gabriella. She simply shrugged and shut her eyes again.

"I know that's not true. The chemistry coming off you two can be seen from a mile away," Sharpay simply stated. She felt Gabriella turn and face her. Sharpay opened her eyes to see a confused look on Gabriella's face.

"What? You thought I didn't see you two practically eye fucking each other? But don't worry. You will tell me all about it sooner or later," Sharpay added before closing her eyes again.

Chemistry? Troy and I have chemistry? Oh puh-lease Gabriella. You knew that right from the start when you guys touched hands.

"But Gabriella, be careful okay," Sharpay said again in a more serious voice as she opened her eyes to lock with Gabriella's and the intensity and seriousness in them sorta scaring Gabriella slightly. Plus the fact how she used Gabriella's full name instead of her nickname 'Ella'.

"Troy, he's um, not exactly the boyfriend type. Well, he's sorta known as only a temporary boyfriend I guess. You know...a player," Sharpay continued. Gabriella's smile had now died down a bit. She simply nodded before closing her eyes and being left alone with her thoughts.

Troy, a player? Well, that was sorta obvious from the beginning. I mean come on, he's the president of the Cappa house, hes ridiculously good looking, hes got a perfectly sculpted body and me, I'm just plain old Gabriella with little- average looks and no matter how many times people tell me differently, I refuse to believe them and I have practically no reputation here but maybe that will change when I start university in a few days.

Sharpay had told me that apparently we are all going to the same university. The University Of Albuquerque. (I know in America they don't go to University but oh well lol. As you can tell, I'm from England and in simpler terms university is like college. Google it XD) It has been known to have quite a high reputation. Guess I am going to be seeing more of him then. Yeah, I know it seems pretty stupid that I came back with only a few days of the summer holiday left but I wanted to spend the last summer with my friends before leaving them. Sue me.

Geez, I hope coming back here wasn't a big mistake...

 **A/N: Okay guyssss! First chapter, done! I'm planning to upload a new chapter every MONDAY and FRIDAY! But pleaseeee review and private message me or whatever to give your feedback but to also remind me that I have people relying on me to finish this story. Ty, ty. I have the next chapter ready but you are all going to have to wait till Friday at around 6pm ish (England Time). :***

 **Btw, I also currently have a few exams going on so I will try to fit in the writing with my revision sessions**

 **Love you all my sweeties 3**

 **~ C**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sense Of Belonging**

Chapter 2- Teen Idle

 _2 days later..._

"Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee," Sharpay continued to whine. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"But Pay, college starts in 2 days and I want to settle in and make sure I am ready," Gabriella replied.

"Come on, you have all of tomorrow to do that. It's just a small pool party at my house today. What's the harm in that?" Sharpay asked. Gabriella gave her an 'are-you-serious' look.

"Sharpay, I know that you are known as being quite popular in high school so I think 'small' is out of the question," Gabriella stated. Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Damn it Ryan," She muttered to herself. Sharpay shifted on Gabriella's sofa so that she was sitting on her legs.

"Okay, okay. If you come, I promise that the next day I will help you finish unpacking and make sure you have everything you need for school," Sharpay told her. Gabriella thought about her options.

"Plus, Troy will be there," Sharpay added in a sing song voice.

Okay so yeah, Gabriella had told Sharpay all about Troy and the feeling she felt when they held hands. But still, Gabriella was reluctant to start a relationship with Troy if he was going to just fuck her and dump her.

She was still a virgin anyways. Yeah I know, 19 and still a virgin? She never found anyone special and she wanted her virginity to be taken by someone special to her.

But, it's not like she has to get with him at the party. _He's great eye candy tho so what's the harm really?_ She is just looking. Not touching. And definitely not getting her feelings involved.

Gabriella sighed and nodded earning a squeal and tight hug from Sharpay. They looked at the clock which read 12pm.

"Okay, the party starts at 2:30pm today and lasts till well, basically when everyone leaves. Oooohhh maybe we could have a bonfire! And I'm pretty sure Daddy left a few fire works in the shed. Seeing as we have a massive field, I can get one of the house workers to stay behind and set it up and that," Sharpay rambled on as Gabriella just nodded along.

"I better get going. I only have 2 and a half hours to get ready!" Sharpay squealed as she ran out the front door leaving a very confused Gabriella.

"Okay, guess I better start getting ready," Gabriella mumbled as she headed upstairs. The excitement in her gradually starting to build up as she continued to get ready.  
-

Gabriella turned up at Sharpay's house at 3pm. She wanted to be fashionably late. Sharpay should be proud that Gabriella took a note out of Sharpay's book.

Scanning around, Gabriella could see the party was already in full motion. There was not a lot of people inside but she could hear the blasting music and everyone outside. Gabriella looked down at her outfit one last time.

She had opted for high waisted jean shorts which had a few loose thread danging off. She wore a loose baggy white shirt which she tucked a small section in the front in her shorts. She threw her long curls up in a messy bun on the walk over here because it was so hot and she had black RayBan's sitting on the bridge of her nose. Underneath she wore a black high waisted bikini which had slits along the side of her hips and in the small valley between her bust. She had some plain black flip flops on.

She grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen and made her way towards the back door sliding it open as she stepped onto the patio. She stood their for a minute soaking up the sun before looking around.

 _Damn. I forgot how big Sharpay's back yard is._

Despite the fact Sharpay had a massive pool, she also had a garden the side of a golf course behind the pool. Wait, I'm pretty sure that is a golf course. I forgot how much the Evan's family loved their golf. She continued to scan her surrounding and soon enough her eyes met with the familiar stunning blue ones standing near the drink cooler a distance away. He simply wore a white v-neck short sleeve t-shirt with dark blue swimming shorts.

Troy stood in the backyard having a conversation with a girl that would also be attending the University he was going to. Her name was Penelope and she looked alright enough with her skimpy bikini and her breast on the verge of popping out. She looked like a quick easy fuck and Troy was not one to complain but he wasn't really in the mood for a hook up. His eyes scanned around for the familiar Latina but she was not there. She is friends with Sharpay right? Surely she'd be here.

"I'm going to go get a soda, you want anything?" Troy asked the blonde in front of him.

"Whatever you're having," She replied with.

"Okay, I'll be back soon," Troy told her before giving her a small wink. He headed towards the drink cooler. Sure there was booze there but they were saving that for later on tonight.

He grabbed a cola and looked up at the sound of the back door opening which was barely audible thanks to the music but he still heard it. And then it all sorta happened in slow motion I guess.

There she was. The one he was waiting for. She walked out of the house and onto the patio looking prettier than all the girls here despite the fact she was basically fully clothed and half the girls here were trying to shove their breast in your face. She looked so peaceful just standing there with her eyes closed facing the sky that her emotions reflected onto Troy making him feel peaceful as well. She looked back down and her eyes locked with Troys. He gave her a soft smile which she returned. She looked like she was debating whether to approach him or not.

Should I go to him? No Gabriella. Remember, he's simply eye candy. But it doesn't mean we can't be friends. You are playing a risky game Montez. And it's a game I am determined to win.

She took a step forward ready to walk over to him when suddenly Sharpay's face was in her view.

"There you are!" Sharpay stated as she gave her friend a soft squeeze.

"Hey. The party seems to be a success," Gabriella told her subtly looking over her shoulder for Troy to find that he was gone. She turned her attention back to Sharpay who thankfully had not noticed.

"Yea! Isn't it great? Come on! I saved us both a sun chair," Sharpay squealed as she dragged Gabriella round the pool and plopped her self down on the chair.

Feeling the heat get to her, she simply took off her shorts and left her cotton white baggy shirt on which just about covered her butt. She took off her flip flops and laid back on the sun chair and enjoyed the beat of the music pumping through her veins as she closed her eyes to soak in the sun. She opened them again and faced Sharpay.

"I'm just going to go find Tay. She told me to find her when you get here," Sharpay told her. She nodded and watched as Sharpay walked off into the crowd. While she had a moment alone, she grabbed her bottle of water and took a sip.

She took the band out of her bun and shook her head so that her curls fall in place.

Suddenly the sun was blocked off from her and she looked up to see Troy standing before her. He gave her his prize winning smile before taking a seat on the sun chair next to her.

God, she looked perfect. Her long toned legs were on display again and I'm sure she did that hair shake on purpose to tease me or something.

"You know Miss Montez, this is a pool party. I don't see you getting in the pool," Troy stated. Gabriella looked at him. He was completely bone dry.

"That's a bit hypocritical seeing as you seem like you have not touched the water at all," Gabriella stated with a smirk. Troy smirked back.

"Ahh, that's where you are wrong Miss Montez. I was just about to make my way over to the pool right now actually," Troy told her. He stood up and made his way towards her.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked confusion lingering in her voice. Suddenly he picked her up bridal style and she let out a small shriek.

"And you are coming with me," Troy added. Gabriella rolled her eyes not really believing he will do it.

"Wow, you really know how to sweep a girl off her feet," Gabriella muttered. Troy chuckled as he began to head towards the pool.

"Joke about it all you want now Montez," Troy stated as he continued to head towards the pool getting closer and closer.

"Wait Troy, you're actually being serious?" She asked him. He chucked as he stood on the edge of the pool at the deep end. He looked at her to see the wrinkle in her brow as she studied his features trying to see whether he would throw her in or not. He looked at her dead serious.

Gabriella made eye contact with Sharpay as they were heading towards the pool and they shared a knowing look before breaking the eye contact.

"I never lie," Troy stated as he then threw her into the pool.

"Wait, Troy NO-," Gabriella squealed as she splashed loudly into the pool. Gabriella felt herself sinking and sinking as she heard Troy's muffled laugh. She frantically moved her arms around trying to surface herself but couldn't.

Sharpay ran as fast as she could to the edge of the pool to find her Gabriella in the pool struggling to surface. Troy seemed too busy laughing to notice she hadn't surfaced yet. She saw Gabriella underwater and saw the panic look on her face as she splashed her arms around.

"TROY NO! SHE CAN'T SWIM!" Sharpay yelled snapping Troy out of his laughing faze. Troy looked down at the water and saw Gabriella squirming underwater.

"Oh shit," Troy mumbled his eyes widening at the same time realising what he had done before diving in the water after her. He grabbed her body underwater and brought her up to the surface as quick as he could holding her above the water to make sure she could breathe.

Gabriella coughed slightly as she grabbed the floatie nearby and distanced herself from Troy with a hurt look on her face. She used the floatie to swim to the edge of the pool where Sharpay was offering her a hand.

"Gabriella I'm sorry I didn't know-" Troy began. Gabriella seemed to slap Sharpay's hand in a high-five sorta way before grabbing the water gun Sharpay was offering. She turned around and pushed the floatie away with a huge smirk on her face before she sprayed Troy right in the face.

Confusion was written all over Troy's face as she burst out giggling in fits of laughter.

"I-I can't believe you fell for that. You-you should've seen your face," Gabriella made out in between her laughter. Troy kept his poker face on when he was laughing and sighing with relief on the inside. Her laughter was beautiful.

"Oh Montez, you are getting it now," Troy said before lunging towards her and picking her up by the waist and throwing her back into the water.

The crowd around them began to laugh. Except from all the jealous girls that had taken a disliking to the flirting between the two. The jealous guys in the crowd just bit their lip as they knew what going against Troy would risk.

Once their laughter had subsided and everyone returned to what they were doing did Troy swim over to Gabriella who was giggling slightly.

"How did Sharpay know about your little plan to trick me?" Troy asked Gabriella as they leaned against the edge of the pool.

"Ahh, Troy, you underestimate the power of two best friends," Gabriella stated and Troy chuckled. Gabriella looked down at her soaking wet t-shirt.

"Troy Bolton, you got my shirt wet," Gabriella stated. Troy gulped as he looked at her shirt seeing it was now see through.

"I'm going to go put this in Sharpay's wash," Gabriella told him as she climbed out the pool and headed inside.

Troy followed her with his eyes and loved the way her hips move feeling mesmerised by it. Once she had disappeared into the house did he finally break away his gaze.

He heard a whistle calling for someones attention.

"Yo love boy," The same person called out. Troy turned around. Wait, why did I turn around? I'm not in love. I'm sure it would be Antone's first reaction.

He saw Sharpay sitting at the edge of the pool with her legs in the water. She wore a simple white bikini.

"Wow, I didn't actually think you would respond to that nickname," Sharpay chuckled. He shook his head.

"I-" Troy tried to explain but was cut off by Sharpay.

"Look Troy, she is my best friend and if you are just using her for a good fuck then I suggest you end this now before you hurt her even more because I swear if she is heart broken because of you, I will personally cut off your balls myself. Or you know, hire someone else to do so because I don't want to touch that," Sharpay added.

Troy gulped and nodded his head. I never really thought about what my feelings for Gabriella are. Is she someone I see an actual relationship with or someone I could just use for fun? Troy Bolton being tied down to one girl? The school would go crazy! But, would it make me happy?

"Hey Ella," Troy's thoughts were cut off as Sharpay greeted her best friend. Troy turned to face her and suddenly felt his breath get stuck in his throat.

Gabriella stood on the edge of the pool before them in just her bikini. The bikini was not skimpy or flashy but was simple and highlighted Gabriella's features perfectly without making her seem desperate. She looked gorgeous, stunning. Simply perfect. The sun shone on her making her seem like she had just walked out of a swimwear magazine or you know, from heaven.

She squinted slightly and covered her eyes with one hand as she bit her lip.  
Yup. Definitely from a swim wear magazine.

"Troy, you alright?" Gabriella asked. He could hear Sharpay giggle behind him before she walked off.  
"Um, yeah. I'm fine," Troy replied. Gabriella nodded.

"I'm going to go catch up with Taylor. See you around tho?" Gabriella asked hopefully. Wait, she was eager to run into him again? To hang out with him again? Oh shit, now I have involved my feelings.

"We have the whole day here Miss Montez. This will not be the last time you see me," Troy told her with a side grin. She smiled before walking off towards her friends giving Troy the perfect opportunity to check out her ass. Damn. It was a fine one!

It was around 6pm and Sharpay, Gabriella and Taylor were all sat together on the sun beds simply catching up and gossipping. The sun was beginning to sink further down and in a good hour or two it would be sunset. Sharpay brought down some of her dads old long sleeve flannels which we used as a light cardigan to keep us warm as we had been pretty chilled out and not kept our body temperatures warm by running around acting crazy. I only tied the third button down up to make sure it stay wrapped around me.

"So what's going on between you and Troy?" Taylor asked. Gabriella simply smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Nothing," Gabriella simply replied. I should most likely get used to this question being asked alot.

"Girl from what I have just seen, you look like you got PlayBoy Bolton over there wrapped around your little finger," Taylor added in which Sharpay just laughed and nodded.

"I wouldn't go so far as having him wrapped around my little finger," Gabriella lingered.

"Okay, he is not wrapped around your little finger...yet. But he does have this look in his eye whenever he looks at you. It's like this um 'Damn-I-want-her' look," Taylor explained. I burst out into a fit of giggles. Taylor and her way of explaining things. I turned around and looked over at the little devil and scanned him over with my eyes. He was laughing with Chad, Zeke and Tyler I believe their names are. There are a few girls around them simply laughing at their jokes and well just completely throwing themselves at them.

"Well believe it or not, I am not going to fall for his little game that he plays on all the girls here," I state letting my eyes linger on him for a second before turning them back to Taylor and Sharpay.

They both seem to let out a soft chuckle before exchanging a knowing look. I'm about to question them on it when Sharpay cuts me off.

"Well, I'm going to go get the small stage set up and put the karaoke on," Sharpay stated as she got up and sped walked away. Her and her love for singing. I chuckle.

"But anyways Taylor, you and Chad?" I ask with raised eyebrows and a small smirk. She giggles like a girl in love.

After about an hour the karaoke was in full swing. There was a small queue of mainly girls that had put down a request. Some of which sounded completely awful and some sounded actually pretty good. It was starting to get a bit darker now but not too dark. The sky was a bluey grey sorta colour. Sharpay had already turned on the fairy lights in the back yard and it looked magical.

Tay and I had grabbed a few deck chairs and placed them to the side by the stage to get a better look at the stage for Sharpay's performance. She went full out sexy earning a good cheer from the slightly drunken crowd. Tay and I screamed and cheered at the top of our lungs for our little diva.

"Thank you guys," Sharpay thanked the audience after her song.

"I remembered a little while ago Gabriella and I would use to sing her heart out and she had the most cutest voice back then. Whether she still does now is the question," Sharpay chuckled as she turned to face me.

Her little speech earning a few chuckles as well.

I got the look she was implying and immediately shook my head in which she pouted.

"No, absolutely not!" I reply which everyone else can hear as the music had stopped with the end of Sharpays song.

"Please Ella, for me?" Sharpay asked. Dammit. I am such a push over when it comes to my best friends. I sigh and roll my eyes before standing up and walking towards the small stage.

"You owe me," I tell her as I get on the stage and take the microphone off of her. She giggles and claps her hands before rushing off the stage. I selected the song I wanted on the karaoke and pressed play before heading back to the centre of the stage.

"I don't think I can quite top Sharpay's performance so this will be interesting," I chuckle as I talk through the microphone to audience earning a few chuckles too.

So here I am, in my black flip flops, black bikini and Sharpay's dad's flannel about to sing in front of a whole crowd of people.

I look around and gulp down the nerves. My eyes lock with bright blue ones looking at me with curiosity. His eyes almost gave me a sense of confidence but also added to the pile of nerves at the same time. Is that weird? That's weird right? I fix my microphone in the microphone stand and prepare myself.

Okay breathe Gabriella, here we go...

 **(Teen Idle By Marina and the Diamonds)**

 _I wanna be a bottle blonde_  
 _I don't know why but I feel conned_  
 _I wanna be an idle teen_  
 _I wish I hadn't been so clean_

 _I wanna stay inside all day_  
 _I want the world to go away_  
 _I want blood, guts and chocolate cake_  
 _I wanna be a real fake_

 _Yeah, I wish I'd been a, wish I'd been a teen, teen idle_  
 _Wish I'd been a prom queen fighting for the title_  
 _Instead of being sixteen and burning up a bible_  
 _Feeling super, super (super!) suicidal_  
 _The wasted years, the wasted youth_  
 _The pretty lies, the ugly truth_  
 _And the day has come where I have died_  
 _Only to find I've come alive_

 _I wanna be a virgin pure_  
 _A 21st century whore_  
 _I want back my virginity_  
 _So I can feel infinity_

 _I wanna drink until I ache_  
 _I wanna make a big mistake_  
 _I want blood, guts and angel cake_  
 _I'm gonna puke it anyway_

 _Yeah, I wish I'd been a, wish I'd been a teen, teen idle_  
 _Wish I'd been a prom queen fighting for the title_  
 _Instead of being sixteen and burning up a bible_  
 _Feeling super, super (super!) suicidal_  
 _The wasted years, the wasted youth_  
 _The pretty lies, the ugly truth_  
 _And the day has come where I have died_  
 _Only to find I've come alive_  
 _Come alive, I've come alive_

 _I wish I wasn't such a narcissist_  
 _I wish I didn't really kiss_  
 _The mirror when I'm on my own_  
 _Oh, God! I'm gonna die alone_  
 _Adolescence didn't make sense_  
 _A little loss of innocence_  
 _The ugly years of being a fool_  
 _Ain't youth meant to be beautiful?_

 _Yeah, I wish I'd been a, wish I'd been a teen, teen idle_  
 _Wish I'd been a prom queen fighting for the title_  
 _Instead of being sixteen and burning up a bible_  
 _Feeling super, super (super!) suicidal_  
 _The wasted years, the wasted youth_  
 _The pretty lies, the ugly truth_  
 _And the day has come where I have died_  
 _Only to find I've come alive_  
 _Only to find I've come alive_  
 _Only to find I've come alive_  
 _Come alive_

 _Feeling super, super, super!_  
 _Feeling super, super, super!_  
 _Feeling super, super, super!_  
 _Come alive_

The sound of cheering erupts the whole place and completely overwhelms me. I can hear a few wolf whistles as well as my two best friends screaming at the top of thre lungs. I blush and mutter a small 'Thank you' into the mic before rushing off the stage. That experience was overwhelming and amazing at the same time.

 _30 minutes later._

It was now pitch black out, the only light being from the fairy lights. Sharpay got one of the butlers or something to setup a massive bon fire which lit the whole garden. Everyone grabbed a chair and sat around the bonfire with a drink in hand. It's surprisingly peaceful despite the music in the background, people chatting, laughing and acting crazy.

It almost feels like a sense of belonging.

"I didn't know you could sing," A familiar husky voice snaps me out of my little epiphany as he pulls up a chair next to me. I smile as I continue to look up at the stars.

"There's quite a few things you don't know about me Mr. Bolton," I reply as I then turn my gaze to look at him. My breathe hitches in my throat as I see his lust filled gaze staring at me with such tenderness and care. No this can't be true, he's THE Troy Bolton. THE player.

"I can see that Miss Montez," Troy returned the smile.

 **A/N: Okay, second chapter done. I haven't quite finished the third chapter so I'm going to try and do that this weekend. But please bare in mind that I got exams next week that I got to revise for but the reviews really help me write this story as I know you guys are counting on me. I got a busy weekend due to Father's Day an all but we'll see how it goes.**

 **Love C**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, I'm just going to say now that I don't go to University so I don't know what it is like. I don't know how the students act or anything like that so most of this is basically made up and probably nothing like University in real life. But it all adds to the drama. Quick disclaimer, I own none of the original HSM characters.**

 **Sense Of Belonging**

 **Chapter 3- E.T**

I stand in front of my full length mirror in my walk in wardrobe looking at my outfit. Today is my first day at the University of Albuquerque. I'm pretty nervous I must admit but I've already made friends here who I can hang round with and so everything should run smoothly...right?

I concentrate on my outfit again. I am wearing a peachy pink festival off shoulder crop top. The shirt was quite flowy ish and not skin tight. I pair it with some light washed high waisted shorts. I wear my white converses and grab my beige cardigan (just in case) and my shoulder bag before rushing down the stairs.

I make my way towards the kitchen to quickly get something to eat before I have to go. My mom is already in there making some coffee. She has her back towards me.

"Morning Mama," I say as I give her a kiss on the cheek from behind her. She jumps in her skin and I give her an 'are-you-okay?'/confused look.

"I'm still getting used to you living here. You scared the hell out of me," Maria replies to her daughter. I chuckles as I grab a piece of buttered toast on the side.

"Well don't worry Mama, I will be outta here soon enough. Just need to get my stuff sorted in my dorm room and the house will be all yours," I say cheerily as I walk out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

"The house will be all mine...," Maria mutters to herself. "All my babies have grown up," She adds. She sighs before returning to the coffee she was making. Although Gabriella's words were not said in a negatively way, quite the opposite actually, it was still quite saddening to know they don't need her anymore.

I pull up at the University. I look around. It's bigger than I remembered. I had a little tour around the other day to get used to the school but now seeing all the students here and filing the place up, it seems a lot bigger.

I take a deep breath and step out the car. _Why am I so worried for? I'm sure the students here in University will be nothing like the bitchy girls back in England. Yeah!_

I walk towards the entrance of the University and walk in. I don't exactly know what to expect so I'm quite sceptical. I continue to wonder down the corridors looking for my first lecture hall room thing.

I tuck my long wavy hair which has a middle parting behind my ears and bite my lip as I look around. _I should probably ask someone. Yeah, that would probably be easier. Okay, look for someone friendl-_

"You look lost," A husky voice next to me states. I turn my head to see the one and only Troy Bolton standing before my eyes. _God does his eyes get sparklier every time I see him?!_

"What did you expect? I am new here," I state and to which he chuckles.

"Touché. Where are you supposed to be right now?" Troy asked her. She gave him the sheet of her lecture times which was in her hands.

"English Lit, that's just round the corner. Come on, I'll walk you," He states as he grabs my hand and leads me towards the lecture hall. My breathe hitches as I look down at our connected hands. _Does he feel that jolt of electricity too? Does he feel that connection too? Oh god, I'm staring at our joined hands like an idiot! Look away, look away!_

I use this time to look around. This place looks so posh and detailed. Everyone's studying hard or catching up with their friends. Everyone here looks pretty decen-

"TROY!" Some blonde squeaks as she runs over towards us. I look this girl up and down before making my judgement on her. Normally, I'm not one to judge a book by it's cover. But this is just blatantly obvious.

She's wearing a low cut shirt which revels too much cleavage. _I mean seriously? How is this allowed?_ A jean mini skirt which barely covers her vag let alone her ass. _Ugh. What does this girl have to do with Troy? Oh god is this his girlfriend? Wait, girlfriend? He plays games on girls I don't think he's exactly boyfriend material. Who is this girl? Oh crap, we're still holding hands! She might think somethin-_

I suddenly feel Troy's grip tighten on my hands as if he knew I was going to pull away. I look up at him only to see that he is still looking at the blonde but with a straight face. No interest. No lust. Nothing. Coldddddd.

The blonde flashes a flirty smile which earns her nothing. No response.

"Hello Chloe," Troy replies. His voice showing no emotion. _Woah what happened to Troy? This is a whole new side of him I have never seen. I'm not quite sure if it scares me slightly. What did this girl do?_

"So, about the other night-" Her gaze slowly goes from him to me. Her eyes squint slightly as she looks at me. _Has she only just recognised me? Wow. I'm already that invisible new girl that I have read in so many stories_.

"Who are you?" Chloe asks me with a hint of disgust in her voice. I pull a 'what-the-fuck' look.

"Gabriella Montez. The new girl...you know, just been standing here the whole time," I reply with. Chloe glares at me as she notices mine and Troy's connected hands.

"Anyways Troy. You, me, tonight at mine. What do you say?" Chloe asks him completely ignoring me again.

Is there a point in me even being here? She's just going to flirt with him anyways.

"Um, you know I should probably get going to my class before I'm late so um, I'll see you around Troy," I say as I begin to pull away from Troy's hand only he doesn't let go.

"Just give me a sec," Troy replies as his eyes connect with mine. It holds a lot more emotion this time than when it did earlier for Chloe. I feel possessed by his gaze that I can't move or talk. He nods his head and turns to face Chloe again. That look in his eyes slowly fading away.

"Look Chloe, I don't know how many times I got to tell you, but you and I are not going to happen," Troy tells her. Her face falls slightly before she pouts out her bottom lip trying to pull a cute innocent puppy dog look.

"But Troy," She whines. Troy simply rolls his eyes.

"Look Chloe I said no. See you around," He says as he walks off dragging me behind with him.

We stop in front of my lecture hall room.

"Thanks for walking me here Troy," I tell him as I then face the door about to go in. I pause as I reach for the handle. I bite my lip. I'm sure I'm not going to be the centre of attention but I want to make a first impression and make sure I don't make a fool out of myself.

"You look beautiful. Stop worrying," Troy tells me. I turn to face him and see his eyes are staring at me, taking in my apparent beauty. I immediately feel the heat rushing up to my cheeks.

"Thank you," I mumble shyly. _God what has gotten into me? What happened to not getting my feelings involved?! Just one compliment from him and a look from him has made my knees go weak. Crap._

"You look cute when you blush," He states with a cute smile plastered on his face as he continue to admire my face. I blush even more.

"Stop complimenting me! I'm going to look like a tomato when I walk in!" I tell him with a half serious half joking voice. He flashes his pearls at me before walking pass me down the hall. But first he stops to peck me on the cheek.

"A very cute tomato," He chuckles before walking continuing off down the hall. I blush some more. His lips feel like they have just burned my cheek. It feels all tingly. I have been kissed before but this one feels different. I shake my head in attempt to get the thoughts of Troy out of my head before turning the door knob and walking in.

 _Lunch_

Sharpay and I make our way through the parking lot towards her bright pink car.

"So when will you be moving into your dorm room?" She asks me as we climb into the car. She turns on the engine and drives off towards the town centre.

"Well after we go have our lunch, I was hoping you would help me bring in the last few boxes," I ask her whilst using my big brown eyes to pull a puppy eye look to convince her.

"Why don't you just ask Troy Boy to help you. He would probably do much better than me," Sharpay smirks. _Damn it! She's the only one that can resist my puppy dog face_. I told her what happened earlier on today and she has not stopped teasing me about it.

"What's up with that anyway?" Sharpay adds before I could reply. I furrow my brows together confused by her question.

"What do you mean?" I ask her. Sharpay continues to keep her eyes on the road whilst occasionally glancing at me.

"The way you have described Troy acting around you is nothing like how he normally does towards other girls," Sharpay replies. I slump down in my seat thinking about it.

"I'm sure it's probably because he's friends with my brother or something," I reply. That's the only logical explanation right.

"I don't think that's it," Sharpay concludes. I continue to think about the different moments I have already spent with Troy.

"Who's this Chloe girl and what's Troy's beef with her?" I ask Sharpay. Sharpay is like the Queen of Gossip. She is bound to know.

"There was a rumour going round like 4 days roughly before you came back that she faked a pregnancy to make Troy stay with her. But that lie was short lived when she decided to go out partying and get herself drunk," Sharpay informs her. My eyes widen in shock.

"Damn. That's insane," I repy feeling disgusted with that girl. Sharpay nodded her head and continued down the street.

"Yeah. Sad thing is that Troy actually believed her at the start and was willing to be there for her and the baby, mainly the baby, seeing as it was partly his mistake. I hope he's finally learnt his lesson for being a fuck boy," Sharpay added. I nodded my head taking in the information.

"Actually now that I think about it, you're the first girl Troy has taken an interest to since that incident," Sharpay said as the clogs in her brain seemed to be going on overdrive. I opened my mouth to say something but was interrupted by Sharpay.

"NO FUCKING WAY! I THINK HE LIKES YOU!" Sharpay squealed. I jumped out of my skin at her sudden outburst. I was taken a back totally caught off guard. _He might like me? No way. He's probably just got everyone else fooled! But not me! I know he's just messing with me._

"Sharpay you have it all wrong. He's just messing with me!" I told Sharpay. Sharpay pulled a smirk on her lips.

"Ella, who has been around Troy the longest?" Sharpay asked an 'I'm right you're wrong' smirk plastered to her lips the whole time.

"You but-"

"So who probably knows Troy better?" Sharpay questions again. I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest and pout.

"I'm not even going to answer," I playfully sulk. Sharpay chuckles.

"Don't worry hun, if my theory is correct, you will know him soooo much better than I do in just a short amount of time," Sharpay responds and to which I just roll my eyes. I do even think there's a point in trying to win against Sharpay.

"So are you going to help me move into my dorm room or not?" I ask her playfully as I knew she deliberately changed the subject.

"Damn you Gabriella. I thought I was getting out of this one," Sharpay replied and I chuckled.

"We know each other too well," I chuckle.

 _8 pm_

I sigh as I flop back onto my bed. I have finally moved into my dorm room. It's a pretty plain and simple room but at least I have the whole place to myself to do whatever crazy shit I want to. It cost a lot more to have a single room than for a sharing one but my dad was a successful lawyer and when he died, he left most of his money for me and Nick. Oh my dad. I miss him so much. I was definitely a daddy's girl. He died when I was 7 from a brain tumour. I try not to think too much about it as I always end up in tears but I think I might visit his grave sometime.

I get up and walk towards the kitchen and pull out some food my mother had put in a plastic Tupperware and left in my fridge for me. I smile as I think about how thoughtful that was of her.

I look down at my outfit. I have never felt comfier in my life. I'm simply wearing black tracksuit bottoms with a big light grey top. I quickly threw my hair up into a messy bun earlier whilst unpacking my stuff. I have no one to impress when I'm all alone so-

 **KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

"Of course you would," I mutter to myself as I walk towards the front door. I unlock the door and pull it open to find Troy standing on the other side with his hands in his pocket.

"Troy?" I question. _What is he doing here?_

"How do you know where I live?" I ask. Only a few people know where I live-

"Sharpay told you didn't she?" I ask him again and he nods. He looks me over as his eyes take me in. _Oh crap, he probably thinks I look like a total mess._ He continues to simply stare at me.

"What?" I ask as start to become self conscious.

"Go out with me Friday night?" Troy asked...sorta. _Woah is he asking me out?_

"Are you asking me or telling me?" I ask with a smug smile trying to play it cool and keep my nerves in check. He chuckles.

"I'm asking," He replies. I swear my heart is beating faster and faster. _Is this hanging out as friends or more than friends? Damn it, my nerves got in the way._

"Like a date?" I ask.

"Well, yeah," He replies. Shit balls. _I remember a time when Sharpay and I were talking about Troy and she said that he doesn't do dates. Holy shit does that mean he actually does like me? Nooo, maybe he's um. Maybe he's got a new tactic right._

"I'm not too sure Troy. I've heard a lot about you and not a lot of what I heard is really helping your case right now," I explain whilst my lips twist to the side with an uncertain look on my face. It's time to get serious now.

"This way you can find out about the real me. Not the rumours you have heard about me," Troy replies still fighting for a date with me. _He really wants this date. And I suppose what he is saying is true. Most of what I heard had been from rumours...and from Sharpay but to be honest she's not exactly close with him._

"And if the real you leaves me heartbroken anyways?" I question still uncertain about this. A part of me wants to, the carefree Gabriella that doesn't think and just goes with the flow, but the brains of Gabriella, the thinker, the defence of my heart, is not so sure.

"Then I will officially think of myself as a dick and total ass hole and I would never forgive myself," Troy replies. I chuckle slightly as I continue to look at him going over the options in my head.

"You can't live your life filled with regrets and what ifs. Besides, it's one date...not marriage," He jokes slightly lightening up the mood. I smile. _He really is trying._

"Okay," I whisper with a small smile on my face. At least he is trying to make an effort. A huge grin appears on his face. _I can still go on this date and not get my feelings attached. Yeah, exactly._

"Great, I'll pick you up at 4:30 on Friday. See you then," He replies with that grin still plastered on his face. He begins to walk away with and I step outside watching him.

"Troy, do you want my number? To you know text me the details?" I ask him from down the hall.

"I already got it," He replies before turning round the corner. My eyebrows furrow together.  
He's already got it? What? Ho- SHARPAY!

 _Tuesday 1:43pm_

 _To. Gabriella_

 _Hey, it's Troy. I'm taking you to the carnival on Friday. The whole town attends and it's pretty cool. So, I'll pick you up at 4:30. See you then...and at school of course._

 _From, Troy_

 _FRIDAY! DATE NIGHT._

I step out of the shower holding onto my towel which is wrapped around my body. I hum a soft tune as I make my way to my bedroom. I put on the radio and make my way to my wardrobe. _Hmmmm. What to wear, what to wear?_ I've been on a few dates before but they were never really Troy Bolton standards. Troy Bolton standards...why out of everyone does he want me? I'm quite plain and simple. No exactly someone that fits into his dazzling life style. Too many questions going on through my head.

 **KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.**

NOO! No! He's not here already! He can't be! It's only 3pm! I rush towards the front door still in my towel. I swing open the door to find Sharpay in a cute summery shirt and skirt. It's always sunny in Albuquerque so we get to wear summery clothes all year round...not just during summer vacation. Not like in England.  
Sharpay's brows furrow in confusion as the look me up and down.

"Gabriella! It's 3pm and you're not at least dressed?!" Sharpay squeaked. _Yeah, I told Sharpay about my date. Why wouldn't I? She's my best friend! And it may have come up whilst I was giving her a mouthful for giving people my number and address without my permission...or my knowledge for that matter._

"Sharpay, I got an hour and a half to get ready. That's plenty of time," I explain as I turn around and head back into my room leaving Sharpay to shut the door and follow me.

I return back to my wardrobe looking through it before I hear the click-clack of her heels head towards my room.

"An hour and a half goes by quickly when you are getting ready," Sharpay informs me. I look at her with an eye roll.

"Not for me,"

 _An hour and 27 minutes later._

"SHARPAY I NEED SOME SUITABLE SHOES! HELP ME LOOK! HE'S GOING TO BE HERE ANY MINUTE!" I yell as I rushes from my bathroom to my wardrobe. _Damn it._

"What about these?" Sharpay asks as she holds up my white heels. I shake my head.

"No way! My feet will ache by the end of the date!" I respond as I crawl to the back of my closet leaving the bottom half of my body dangling out the wardrobe.

"Well that way, Troy could sweep you off your feet," Sharpay adds with a smirk playing on her lips. I didn't need to see her face to know she was smirking. I chose to simply ignore her comment.

"I'm sure I put them in here somewhere," I muttered to myself. Sharpay furrowed her brows as she looked at her ridiculous best friend half in a bloody wardrobe.

"What are you looking for?" Sharpay asked. I was too focused on my mission to even register her question.

"You're going to mess up your hair in there!" Sharpay added. I finally see the spec of white from the shoes I was looking for.

"AHA! I found them!" I call as I slither my way back out the wardrobe with the pair of white converses in hand.

"Ooohhh converses would give that cute, casual, edgy look with that dress," Sharpay nodded with approval.

I'm wearing a cute innocent white summer dress that flows down mid length on my thigh. Sharpay added some fake daisy clips into my hair for accessories. (The dress and hairstyle that Gabriella had during the song Right Here, Right Now). My make up was pretty light. Sharpay added a thin winged eyeliner and mascara onto my long lashes that frame my eyes. I put on a small bit of tinted Vaseline onto my lips but I didn't put too much on so that my lips weren't too glossy...but midway between glossy and matte...if that makes sense.

"You sure I am not overdoing it by wearing a dress?" I ask Sharpay as I lace up my converses in front of the body length mirror. Normally I am one to keep my outfits quite casual.

"Honey, I have been to one of these carnivals before, there are people that go full out there! You look fine," Sharpay responded. Sharpay stood up from the bed and stood behind me in the mirror.

"No I take that back, you look gorgeous," Sharpay added as she grinned in the mirror. A small smile appeared on my face as I thanked her with my eyes through the mirror.

"If only my daddy could see me now," I whisper to myself yet Sharpay still manages to hear. I'd hope he' be proud to see his only daughter all grown up. I was still in that 'before puberty hit' stage and talked with a squeaky girl voice and would giggle constantly. I've matured a lot since then. I wonder if he can see me.

"He'd be so proud," Sharpay smiled as she placed a hand on my shoulder. I give return her smile as a single tear strays down my face. I carefully wipe it away to not ruin my makeup.

 **KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.**

Sharpay and I make our way towards the door. I open the door to see Troy stood on the other side with a bunch of red roses. I smile as I look at him. For once he looks pretty nervous. He's dressed in a dark blue short sleeve shirt that hugs his muscles perfectly with dark jeans.

His eyes meet mine after looking over my body with a his prize winning smile stuck on his face.

"You look beautiful," Troy states. I blush slightly and to which he chuckles remembering our conversation outside the lecture hall about compliments.

"You don't look too bad yourself," I reply and to which he chuckles again. He brings the roses up slightly and offer them to me and to which I take them from his hands. _I hope he didn't notice my hands shaking slightly._

"Thank you, they are beautiful," I tell him as I hand them to Sharpay and direct her to put them in water. I also tell her where the spare keys are so she can lock up once she has done. She nods and wanders off.

"You ready?" He asks. I nod and he takes my hand and leads me to his truck.

 **A/N: He asked her out on a date! Whoop whoop. I have a rough idea of where I want this to head in my head but feel free to throw some ideas my way. Another factor. Each chapter will now be coming out every TUESDAY and FRIDAY. As during the weekend I normally spend time with my fam and it's hard to cram the writing in my spare time. 3 Thank you for reading my dearies.**

 **FUN FACT: Each title of each chapter is named after a song on my playlist. Some of the songs have like no relevance to the chapter and some do. Chapter 1 title: Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus**

 **Chapter 2 title: Teen Idle by Marina and the Diamonds**

 **Chapter 3 title: E.T by Katy Perry feat Kanye West**

 **^^^ I will say who it is by in each A/N at the end 3**

 **-C**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sense Of Belonging:**

 **Chapter 4- Come & Get It**

I stare out the window and gaze at the flashing lights. Yellow, purple, blue, pink. All different colours appearing before my eyes. It's truly a beautiful sight. I lean on back on my chair and watch the lights zoom by. I smile as we pull up in the parking lot of the carnival. It's filled with life and laughter that I feel like a little kid again wanting to go on all the rides.

I turn around to face Troy to see his eyes just staring at me with a cute, warm cheeky smile on his sexy face. _Ugh he looks gorgeous._

"What?" I ask a small smile playing on my lips. He smiles some more whilst looking deep into my eyes.

"You look so beautiful," Troy tells me again. The 2nd time during this car ride here...it was only a 5 minute drive here. I blush every time. A huge grin appears on my face at his compliment.

"Thank you," I reply shyly. _What is he doing to me?!_ He stares at me for a second longer before tapping me on the nose.

"Come on doll, the carnival awaits us," He tells me as he jumps out the car and jogs over to my side opening the door for me.  
-

We walk hand in hand through the carnival like one of those loved up couples in the movies. I look around at all the rides and games not knowing which one to go on first.

"Okay doll, which game or ride do you want to go on first?" Troy asks me. _Doll? That's the second time he has called me that. Is that my new nickname? It's cute._

"There's so many options, I can't decide," I reply looking at all the fair ground games.

"Well thankfully we got these bracelets which means all the games and rides are free. We can try them all!" Troy exclaimed like a little kid as he showed me his hand with the red paper bracelet on matching mine. We got them at the entrance but of course we had to pay to get in. Troy being the gentlemen paid for me no matter how many times I insisted I could pay my half.

"I think you're just embarrassed because I could probably beat you at all these games," Troy fake mocked with a teasing smirk on his face. My jaw drops yet I am unable to stop the corners of my mouth rising slightly. I fake shock in which he picks up on because of my smile creeping in.

"No you could not!" I defend myself. His smirk continues to grow larger and larger.

"Wanna bet?" He questions as he wiggles his eyebrows. I laugh at his goofy face.

"And what do I get if I win?" I ask looking up at him. He pauses to think for a moment.

"I will tell you every single embarrassing moment in my life. Even the ones that no one knows about" Troy replies. I think for a moment.

"Hmm, embarrassing stories that could ruin Troy," I ponder out loud with a mocking grin in my face to which Troy chuckles.

"Okay. And what do you want if you win?" I ask already knowing that he has something in mind. A huge grin forms on his face. _Ding, ding, ding. I was right._

"A second date," Troy replies. My eyebrows raise a bit. _Really?_

"Our first date isn't even over yet. What if you change your mind?" I ask him looking into his eyes with a small smile on my face.

"I wont," He simply replies with.

"What if I have a freakishly weird habit that you don't like?" I ask him with a raised eyebrow. He looks at me with a serious face yet in his eyes I can a hint of enjoyment.

"Do you?" He asks me. I furrow my brows together thinking about it.

"I don't think so," I reply with still looking off in the distance wondering if I have any weird habits.

"Then I won't," He replies with a small smile creeping on his face again. I match that smile as I look at him.

"Okay then, it's a bet,"

He chuckles and steps back using his hands to gesture to all the fairground games around us.

"Take your pick," He replies. I bite my lip and look around before pointing to an easy one to start the bet off. Hook-a-duck.  
-

"Troy-1, Gabriella-0," Troy grins as we walk away from Hook-a-duck fairground game. Troy managed to hook two more ducks than I did.

"That's not fair! You kept tickling me!" I whine with a small smile on my mouth. He chuckles.

"As a professional at this, I can keep my body in control," Troy replied as he holds a smug smile on his face and we continue to walk around.

"No, you're just not ticklish," I reply. I would know. I tried to get him back but it failed. He laughs at me before looking around at the other games. We agreed that we would alternate on which

"Okay, I chose that one," Troy says as he points over to a rifle shooting game. I smirk inwardly to myself but I don't show him that.

"I dunnooo," I reply faking my unsureness. He grabs my hand and drags me along to the game anyways as I erupt into giggles at his child like behaviour.  
-

"H-h-how did you do that?" Troy asked utterly confused as he gazed off into the distance trying to piece the puzzle together in his head. I laugh at his shocked face. _Yes, yes it's true. I beat him at the rifle shooting game._

"One of the few hobbies I picked up whilst in England. Only a rifle though. I can't really work a hand gun as well as a rifle," I explain as I look ahead simply babbling on. I turn to face him to see he is watching me with complete fascination.

"I think that's Troy-1, Gabriella-1," I smirk as I high five myself. Troy chuckled as he looked at how nerdy I was looking right now. He continued to gaze at me until my eyes looked up to lock with his. My breath hitched in my throat as I look over how sexy he is right now and how close he is to me. I would give anything to just taste his lips on mine. To feel his soft lips all over my body-oh god, now is not the time to be thinking about that. Besides, I can't. I can't completely trust him right now with my heart.

We continue to stare into each others eyes and I can feel his eyes attempting to analyse mine. His eyes are so blue, so sparkly, filled with so much emotion, I-I-I raise my hand and point to the fairground game behind him before this goes any further. I mentally shake off these emotions trying to not let myself get too carried away.

"That one next," I whisper. He's close enough to hear me. He looks me over one last time before nodding and turning around to walk over to the stall. Not before grabbing my hand and taking me with him. I take this time to breathe. It's like I forget how to breathe around him.

I don't even know what fairground game I chose. It was all a blur to be honest, I just needed to make it stop. I needed to think. I needed to-to- I needed to protect my heart again. He's already made a hole in the wall surrounding my heart.

I read the sign of the stall that says 'Shoot Some Hoops' with a cartoon lion I think it is with a basketball in it's hands.

As we continue to make our way to the stall, I finally gather up the courage to look up at Troy's face. He has a small smirk playing on his lips. Why he was smirking, I don't know. But I feel as if I'm about to find out.

"Troyyy, you here to impress your lady friend?" The man at the stall asks whilst they do a quick handshake.

 _Impress me?_ Troy simply chuckles as he laces our fingers together but keeps his focus on the guy standing in front of us. Just a little way of letting me know that he's still thinking of me even though he's talking to someone else. A small smile spreads on my lips.

"Gabriella this is George, my number one fan, George this is Gabriella, my date," Troy introduces. His number one fan? I chose not to ask. I look at the man. He looks to be around his mid 30s with a kind face. Like one of them cool-uncle faces you know. He outstretches his hand and to which I shake.

"Lets get the game started," Troy said to both George and I as the basketballs came rolling down towards us.

I look at Troy indicating for him to go first. He brings his arms up above his head with the ball in his hand and I watch as his perfectly sculptured upper arms flex perfectly as he releases the ball from his hands effortlessly. I bite my lip as I continue to stare, he looks like he know exactly what he is doing. It's quite the turn on. Damn it! The basketball doesn't even bounce off the ring but slips perfectly into the basket. Oh god what have I gotten myself into. He's obviously a professional or something.

He turns to looks at me and I quickly release my lip from between my teeth. He chuckles and smirks as he now fully turns his attention onto me. He nods his head at me indicating my turn.

"Over to you now doll," Troy states as he leans on his side against the railing to watch me. I bring my arms over my head and concentrate on the basket biting my lip at the same time. It's something I do when I am concentrating. I push the ball out of my hands and watch as it falls into the basket without even hitting the rings. Netball you see. I was the Goal Attack **(meaning I** shoot **the goals if you don't know the rules of Netball 3)** ...and you know maybe a few quick math estimations here and there.

His face is filled with surprises as he continues to look at me. He smirks determined to win this as he grabs the next ball and lines up his shot.

 _Oh god, here we go..._

"Troy-2, Gabriella-1," Troy smirks as we walk away from the basketball game. I shake my head at his goofiness with a small smile playing on my lips. I hold onto the large teddy bear that Troy had won from the game which he of course gave to me.

"So come on then, are you going to tell me where you got your shooting skills from?" I ask him.

"Captain of the Basketball team at East High," He tells me. I nod my head with an 'o' shape formed with my lips.

"Of course you were," I reply and to which he chuckles and looks over at me again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He jokes around feigning hurt.

"You're just so..." I begin to explain as I use my hand to circle around his upper body. I can't quite think of the word to go with it.

"So?" He asks laughing at my crazy hand gestures.

"I mean, you're the President of the Kappa ( **thanks for the spelling correction Paceloa. Honest Mistake ;P** ) House. Of course you'd also rule your High School as well," I state and to which he shrugs and chuckles shaking his head at my stereotype...it's true though.

"What about you Missy? You only lost by one shot. Where'd your shooting skills come from?" He asked as he brow peeked up.

"Netball," I reply with and to which he nods his head.

"Right, that one next," Troy said as he laced out hands and pulled me over to the horse shoe throwing stall.

No Ones POV

"GABRIELLA- 8 TROY-7" Gabriella squeals in joy of her win as she bounces up and down. Troy chuckles but feels slightly disappointed that he might not get the second date now.

Troy took Gabriella over to the candyfloss booth and bought the winner a candyfloss and to which she thanked him for. The dark sky had taken over the town a while ago as it just struck 8:30pm. She didn't quite realise how fast the time flew by. But in between their fairground competition they did get something to eat and they also went on a few rides.

They were now walking through the town towards the gathering to watch the fireworks. Gabriella had one hand on her candyfloss eating away at it with her large teddy bear hooked under her arm and her other hand wrapped around Troys. Troy walked beside her, admiring her looks but her personality too. She had this outer wall in which she hid behind. A cool Gabriella that tried to not pry for attention but when shit needed to be done, she was there to handle it. But once you broke through that wall, she was like a cute, giggly, bubbly girl that would giggle about absolutely nothing. He loved her giggle. It was filled with so much melody that he would do anything to make her laugh again just to hear it.

She was so focused on her candy loss that she hadn't noticed Troy staring at her for a good few minutes. He would often take sneak peeks at this gorgeous girl next to him.

They stared up at the pitch black sky to see it being lit up by vibrant different colours. It was outstanding. A beautiful theatrical piece. The only light sources being from the fireworks itself and the lights on the fairground rides that seem to just light the whole place up. The radio was playing on in the background. It was like the most perfect scenario. They sat on a stay of hay and although it was not exactly the most comfortable seat, it felt right. As if this is where they belonged.

Gabriella let her heart relax as she stared up at the sky with her big brown doey eyes. She had never felt so right, so peaceful. It felt a sense of belonging sitting here. And none of it would have been possible without the handsome, kind, amazing blue eyed wonder sat next to her.

She let her gaze fall onto him and found him more mesmerising than the actual fireworks. His eyes filled with so much joy it reminded her of a little boy on Christmas. He must be feeling exactly like she is. Feeling so right, right? He looked it. She had never seen him so happy. It warmed her heart. She was smiling on the inside but on the outside, she just continued to look at him with such fascination.

He turned his head to look at her, expecting her to be looking at the fireworks like a little kid just like he was, only to see her looking at him with her big sparkly eyes. His heart must've skipped a beat. He's never seen this look on her face before. It was like a mix of lust and happiness. He couldn't resist but to look down at her plump luscious lips.

Gabriella watched as his gaze fell from being a happy 5 year old boy to a lustful 20 year old man. His gaze fell on her lips and her breath hitched in her throat. Was he going to kiss her? And what was more worrying was that she actually wanted him to. She bit her lip feeling the butterflies going crazy in her stomach. Her heart was pounding so hard she was surprised he couldn't hear.

His hand came up to touch her face. His thumb grazed against her bottom lip, releasing it's hold from her teeth. The burning desire for him was building up in her core. His eyes locked with hers again before looking back at her lips again. His thumb brushed off her lips as he leaned down towards her lips slowly. It was painfully slow.

Her bottom lip locked between his lips. They moved in sync with one another. It was a soft innocent kiss. A curious kiss getting used to the feel of one an-others lips. Their hunger for one another continued to grow and the kiss began to get more heated. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he pulled her closer to his chest so her chest was flushed up against his. His tongue licked her bottom lip and she parted her lip letting his tongue enter her mouth. He explored her mouth with his tongue loving the way she felt, tasted, everything.

When air became a necessity, they pulled apart. Gabriella's arm stayed locked around his neck as they pressed their foreheads against one another. Simply gazing into each others lustful eyes as they breathed heavily for air.

"I'm still expecting them embarrassing stories," Gabriella whispered so he could hear. Her hot breath plastered on his face effecting him more than she could possibly imagine. Troy chuckled.

"Anything for you," Troy replied with that typical Bolton smile. Gabriella reflected the smile plastered on his lips.

"And that second date," Gabriella added and to which she watched as his smile grew wider. He nodded his head moving Gabriella's head with his. He looked down at her slightly red luscious lips again before connecting them again with his.

 **A/N: Yayyy they had a date. I'm sorry this post was late! It's just I had exams all week and yesterday night we went out to see The Conjuring 2 and we didn't get back till midnight and I was shattered! Good film tho! I'm trying to keep up with the deadlines but you may have to bare with every now and then. Please review because your reviews really encourage me to write! 3**

 **Title: Come & Get It by Selena Gomez**

 **-C**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sense Of Belonging**

Chapter 5- The Tide Is High

Gabriella woke up the next morning feeling all warm and giddy inside. Memories of her date with Troy overwhelmed her and she snuggled into her bed with a big grin on her face. _I think it has gone past the point of keeping my feelings out of this. I may just about still have my heart protected though._  
She lay in her bed and stared at the ceiling. The sunlight dimly lit her room through the blinds. She stretched her arms out like a starfish before relaxing. She stared at her ceiling for a moment longer thinking about a certain blue eyed boy and what to do with her day.

 **Buzz. Buzz.**

Gabriella grabbed her phone from her bed side table and opened up her messages.

 _To. Gabriella_

 _Good morning Doll, How's a day at the beach for our second date? Meet me there at 2pm today x_

 _From Troy_

Gabriella's grin grew so big that it ached her cheeks. The way how he asked her for a date yet didn't actually let her reply before making a decision. He really was something else.

 _To. Troy_

 _Good morning Troy Boy, it's a date x_

 _From Gabriella_

Gabriella hit send and she hopped out of bed and headed for the shower. She had plans to go shopping with Sharpay at 9am so she planned 4 hours of shopping and an hour to get ready.

Gabriella and Sharpay walked into the shopping mall. Only when Gabriella was in the car did she realise she could use with a new bikini. They walked through the centre looking around in different shops and gossiping about lord knows what.

Gabriella and Sharpay exited out of a shop with a numerous amount of bags hanging from their arms and big smiles plastered on their faces.

"Oh shit," Sharpay exclaimed as they were a few steps out of the shop.

"What?" Gabriella asked as Sharpay began to rummage through her bags looking for something.

"I left my bag in the changing room!" Sharpay panicked as she ran back into the store. Gabriella decided to stay put outside drinking her Starbucks coffee.

"You better watch it Montez!" A harsh voice came from behind her. She turned around to see that Chloe girl that Troy was talking to in the halls of University standing before her with her hip jutted out and her arms crossed.

"Excuse me?" Gabriella replied. _Who does this girl think she is? Barbie? Well sorry, that position has been taken by Sharpay._

"I don't know who you think you are turning up at Uni as the pathetic new girl and immediately stealing my guy and my friends?!" Chloe exclaimed her face getting angrier every second.

"I would hardly call myself pathetic if I could achieve all that," Gabriella mutters not really giving any interest in this pathetic argument.

"No one can see past your fake innocence to see it," Chloe replies smugly at to which Gabriella simply just rolls her eyes.

"I haven't stolen your guy or your "friends". I haven't even talked to any of your so called friends. So, chill," Gabriella replied using her fingers to quote the word friends. _What friends have I stolen?_

"You say that but you seem to already have the majority of the school wrapped around your skanky pinkie finger," _Skanky pinkie finger? I'm trying so hard not to laugh at these shitty assaults._

"You're acting so smug now Gabriella but I still have one advantage," Chloe adds with a smug smile of her own on her face. Gabriella's ears perk up in curiosity. Not that she really cared she just interested on what that could possibly be.

"Which is?"

"I'm Troy's weakness," Chloe replies as she flips her annoyingly perfect blonde hair over her shoulder and bats her perfect eyelashes at me. _I hate to only just realise it, but she is actually gorgeous, simply stunning, as if she belonged in a magazine or something...a porn magazine maybe. Heh, heh, good one Gabs. God now is not the time to be laughing at your own jokes Gabriella get a grip._

"You see I may have done some shitty things before, but he has always come back to me. I'm his one fling that has been more like a repeated thing we got going. He can never seem to stay away," Chloe smirks. _Is this true? I haven't been here for long so for all I know it could be true. Would he still like her after that whole faking a pregnancy incident? No, no it can't be...right._ Gabriella's self confidence about this whole thing suddenly deflates and she feels her heart sink back to reality.

"See you round," She smiles as she flips her blonde locks and stalks off in the other direction.

"Oh and Gabriella," Chloe calls out from a distance away. Gabriella looks back up at her and see this creepy smile on her face.

"Watch your back," Chloe replies. This girl and her obsession with Troy. It's starting to get a weird as fuck.

"Are you alright?" Sharpay asks Gabriella as they are currently sat in Sharpay's car driving back towards campus. Gabriella had been freakishly quiet during that whole ride. And if Sharpay was right about it, it was because something was on her mind.

Gabriella snapped out of her daze at the sound of Sharpay's voice.

"Hmm? Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Gabriella replied as she forced on a smile before looking back at the dashboard and getting self absorbed into her thoughts.

Sharpay took a few glances at Gabriella. She was clearly not alright and the fact how she was trying to pull the wool over Sharpay's eyes clearly shows she has not learnt anything.

"Alright, spill," Sharpay replied in a stern voice. Gabriella could tell there was no getting around this one.

"Is it true that Chloe is Troy's weakness?" Gabriella asks her quietly. Sharpay looked over at Gabriella.

"Who told you this?" Sharpay asked as her brows furrowed together. _Great, she didn't deny it. And I just got my feelings involved and everything._

"Chloe did, and the fact that you didn't deny tells me all I need to know," Gabriella replied as she sighed and looked out the window.

"Look, before the whole fake pregnancy incident and what not, I probably would have said yes. She wasn't exactly his weakness per say, more like the one fling he simply wanted more of. It wasn't quite like he wanted a relationship with her more like he just always came back to her," Sharpay replied. That sinking feeling returning.

"But now, now it's different. He normally has his fling with her at least once a week or two. But it's been a good 3 weeks now. Plus, he met you. Ever since he met you and what you tell me about him, it's completely different to how he treated Chloe and any other girl for that matter. So I'd probably say you are his weakness," Sharpay finished. That sinking feeling Gabriella had once felt had seemed to be lifted off her shoulders and a small smile appeared on her face. But she too still had her doubts. She was just going to have to go with the flow and see where it took her.

Gabriella stood in front of the mirror looking pretty pleased with the bikini she had bought. It was a dark red colour and this time it wasn't high waisted unlike her black one meaning it showed a bit more flesh. Her bottoms had two cut outs on either sides of her hip. She pulled her flowy white summer dress that had big sleeves and an off the shoulder look over her head.

She had virtually no make up on as there was really no point if it was all going to wash off because of the water. She finished her look off with some brown knee high gladiator sandals.  
Gabriella looked at the time to see that it was 1 minute to 2. She grabbed her beach bag and her black sun hat before starting to head towards the front door.

Troy should be here any minute now-

 **KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.**

(Gabriella's POV)

"Right on time," I say as I swing the door open to reveal Mr Bolton himself. He looks so handsome in his knee-length black shorts and a white v-neck shirt that hugged his god like body. He has a pair of aviators on the top of his head.

"Anything for you," He states as he bends his arm slightly for me to loop my arm through his. I giggle as we make our way out of the building and to his truck.

I sit down on my beach towel and pull off my dress revealing my new dark red swimsuit. Troy is somewhere behind me putting down our bags and I swear I could hear his breath get caught in his lungs from here. A goofy smile appears on my face as I try to contain it before Troy sees. I grab my suntan lotion and begin to rub it into my skin. I can feel the familiar gorgeous blue eyes on me giving me goosebumps. He's really quiet back there. He has taken quite a while to 'put down our bags' I wonder if he's alright.

"Troy?" I turn round to face him and it's like seeing a deer caught in the head lights or something. His eyes were already focused on me as I turned round. He is frozen and simply looks at me. _Does he think I have caught him staring? Haha, he's cute. Well, I have but I will keep that to myself._

"Can you rub the sun cream on my back please?" I ask him. I watch as he subtly tries to gulp before nodding his head and sitting on my towel behind me. I gather my hair and pull it over my shoulder so that it's away from my back.

He begins to rub the sun cream onto my back and his hands feel like magic. He gently massages me at the same time as putting the cream on me and my whole back feels as if it is on fire from his touch. I have to bite my lip to suppress a moan and quite literally embarrass the shit out of myself. His hands travel lower down my back my breath hitches in my throat. I'm like 90% sure he knows this as my whole body flinched at the same time. I can feel his body heat get closer to me and before I could even comprehend what he was doing, I felt his majestic lips place a lingering kiss on the base of my neck on my back. I close my eye enjoying the pressure of his lips on my skin. He lets his lips rest there for a good few seconds before bringing them off and pecking that same spot.

"All done doll," He states as he presses his chest against my back and lets me rest back in between his legs.

It doesn't take long for my body to melt into his. This second date is going to be quite interesting...

I wake up the next morning wrapped up in a ca-coon of my bed sheets. And just like yesterday, a rush of warmth overtakes my body as I think back to my date with Troy yesterday.

The whole date continued of both of us occasionally placing light kisses on each others body. My heart fluttered every single time he kissed me, every time he touched me, every time he even looked at me. What is this boy doing to me?! I've never felt so happy, so relaxed, so peaceful all at once. And it's probably the happiest I have ever been in quite a while.

 _3 weeks later._

It's 6:25pm on a Friday night and Troy is coming to pick me up at 6:30pm. I stand in front of my mirror checking over my outfit. I am wearing a simple plain red dress that rests mid- thigh. It hugs my body up to my waist before flowing down to my thighs. I match these with black sandal heels that have quite a thick heel. This is going to be me and Troy's 10th date and for some reason I feel more nervous about this date than any of my other dates with him before this. Except our first date.

All of our other dates that we have had before this one had been quite low key, mainly just us hanging out in a fun environment getting to know each other. Like the carnival, the beach, the zoo, a picnic at the park, bike riding through town and down the forest tracks, bowling and all sorts. But this time, we are having an actual formal date at a restraint in town that is known to have quite high reviews.

I'm quite nervous as I don't know a lot of conversation starters or anything as I for one know quite a lot about him anyway. I know about his childhood, his parents, his lifestyle and I defiantly know from Sharpay that Troy does not go on dates so the fact that I have been on 10 dates with him is saying something.  
I really appreciate how he is considering my feelings and taking things slow to prove to me that I can trust him with my heart. Neither Troy or I have confessed any love but we have defiantly hinted at a liking for one another. I mean, you don't waste your time on 9 dates if you don't actually like the person. So far, Troy and I have not gotten further than really heated passionate kisses and it's going to stay that way unless our relationship develops further.

To say that I don't want our relationship to develop further would be an complete and utter lie. I have spent a lot of my time with him even when we are not on dates etc that we are practically each others best friend. I must say, recently I have been spending more time with him than Sharpay. And I think that's good (not that I am not spending any time with Sharpay but how he's like my best friend). I've always believe that you fall in love with your best friend and I think I may have found mine.

Yes, you heard correct. I have been spending so much time with him that it's impossible to keep my feelings away, especially seeing as I already had a small interest in him since the beginning. His luscious brown shaggy hair that occasionally cover his crystal blue eyes. Oh his eyes. I notice his eyes are this same bright blue colour every time he looks at me but when he's looking at other people, it seems to be a shade darker. That makes my heart flutter inside even though I should probably not read too much into this. But, it's like every time he looks at me, I am the only girl that he sees.

I think I am falling for the one person I swore I would try to keep my feelings away from. Troy Bolton. I've tried to keep my distance but I simply couldn't. And now, I have become like every single other girl he has been with. A girl wrapped around his pinkie finger. But if he thinks I am anything like them girls, he has another thing coming.

Not only am I nervous about this date because of my feelings for him and how important this date is, but it's his body language the day he asked me...

 _ **KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.**_

 _I make my way towards the door and swing it open to find Troy's back facing me. He swings round and looks at me. I notice his face seem to calm a bit by seeing me but how he also seems to still be a bit nervous. Why's he nervous around me? We had a whole day together where we acted like fools eating ice cream, watching movies in our joggers. I even had no make up on! I thought we were comfortable around each other now. I would be freaking out but this look in his eye that I can't seem to identify calms me down. Like it has every single time I have looked in his eyes in the past few days._

 _My eyes travel down to the bunch of daisies in his arms that are wrapped in white tissue paper. A small smile creeps on my lips. Ever since I told him on our 4th date that my favourite flowers were daisies, he has been continued to buy me them._

 _"You know, you should check who's at your door first before swinging it open. I would hate if you got kidnapped or something," He replies in a joking matter but I notice his eyes darkening at the thought of it. I smile trying to lighten the mood and because the fact how he cares melts my heart._

 _"Note taken," I reply and to which he smiles._

 _"These are for you," He changes the subject as he hands me the flowers. I hold them in my arms almost like how you hold a baby._

 _"Thank you. Not that I don't appreciate the flowers but, why?" I asked as politely as possible not being able to deny my curiosity. He scratches the back of his neck which I have learnt from our previous dates means that he is nervous._

 _"So, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me on Friday at 6:30pm at Intermezzo," Troy asked me. That restaurant is pretty high end for a small town like ours and it's the first date of ours that doesn't have a fun, chill setting to it you know._

 _"Of course," I reply back whilst my heart continues to beat faster and faster. So many questions are running through my head but all I can think about is the boy opposite me and how nervous he is too. He must be thinking and feeling the same way_.

 **KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.**

The sound of my door knocking brings me out of the flashback. I grab my purse and head towards the front door yelling a 'coming' as I make my way through the apartment.

I swing the door open and watch as his facial expression changes from being nervous to happy in an instant. His smile grows as his eyes rake me over and I can't help but match his smile biting my lip at the same time as I look him over. He looks so handsome and sexy in his suit that's tight enough to outline his muscles slightly.

 _Let's get this show on the road..._

 **A/N: Yes, I know. I hate a time jump just as much as you guys probably do but it had to be done as it was beginning to drag on and I wanted to include a bit of drama but it was too early in their relationship to force drama upon them yanno. So, I tried to make it clear that nothing too dramatic happened. Also, sorry for the late update, I had to repost cuz it went all funny.**

 **Title: The Tide Is High by Atomic Kittens**

 **~C**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sense Of Belonging:**

 **Chapter 6- Can't Help Falling In Love**

"Have I told you how beautiful you look?" Troy mutters in my ear as we cross the road towards the restaurant, arms linked with huge grins on our faces. Troy tells me I look beautiful every chance he gets but it still makes my heart soar.

"You may have mentioned it once or twice," I half smirk half grin. He chuckles.

"Well, one too many is better than one less," He adds. _God he's so cute, and sorta cringe. I always thought these cringey moments would feel so weird and awkward but when you're in the moment, you don't even realise how cringe it sounds (unless you like completely over do it)._

We enter the restaurant and we are led to our table by our waitress. She's quite young and quite pretty too. I immediately glare at her back as she leads the way. Thankfully nor she or Troy noticed...I would never hear the end of this is he saw that. I really hope she has the decency to keep herself to herself.

We get to our table and Troy being the gentlemen he is...now, pulls out my chair for me and I give a small thank you as I sit down. He walks back round to his side and gives me a small smile before we turn our attention to our waitress. Her name badge reads 'Lana'.

"Welcome to The Ivy, here are your menus which also consist of the chefs specials for tonight," She tells us both with a genuine smile on her face. _Wow, I am beginning to actually have some respect for this women, she can clearly see he is taken and is backing away. You hardly see that now a days._

As we wait for our food to arrive, Troy reaches across the table and locks hands with me. Just a small gesture has me blushing like an idiot. We throw around some small conversations before Lana returns again with our food.

She plates them down in front of us and Troy and I notice a folded note placed on the edge of his plate. Lana continues to place down our drinks as Troy opens the note. I don't know what it says but he scrunches the piece of paper up and hands it back to Lana. Her face looked hurt and embarrassed. _What was on that piece of paper?_

"We're going to take these to go," Troy tells her in a cold tone of voice whilst keeping his eyes locked on mine. His eyes are a complete contrast to his tone of voice. It's filled with lust and admiration and again, this look I can't exactly identify.

Lana simply nods and scurries away with our food and I let my eyes follow her watching her body language. My brows furrow together in confusion as I turn back to Troy.

"Don't worry about it," He simply state with a soft smile. She returns with our food and Troy pays her the money before standing up and leaving. _He's not getting away with this...I'll ask him about it later._

 _So much for our formal dinner...whatever was on that note completely ruined our first formal dinner. Is this the end of our 10th date?_

Troy and I are sat in his car driving god knows where. Troy won't tell me. He told me that this was the second part of our date but the first part (being the actual dinner) is just going to have to combine with the second.

We pull up at a forest opening by a cliff and Troy parks his car. It looks quite creepy...it's pitch black outside and we're on the edge of a cliff. _God, please don't let this be the part where he tells me he's actually a psychopath and kills me._

Troy opens my door for me and gives me a hand out. I stand up and look around getting a clearer look of my surroundings. It was quite pretty, you could see the town down below and the lights still on in the numerous houses.

"So um, you're not going to kill me right?" I ask as I continue to look around before finally letting me eyes rest on his. He laughs softly and shakes his head at my comment.

"No, of course not, I enjoy your company too much," He states as he intertwines hands with mine and grabs our take away bag before we venture off into the forest.

We have been walking for a good 10 minutes down this pathway created in the forest and we still have not gotten there yet. I grip onto Troy's hand tighter starting to feel sorta creeped out being this deep in the forest. He pulls me into his side and wraps his arm around my shoulders making me feel a lot more safer.

"We're almost there," He whispers into my ear.

I look ahead and a source of light begins to illuminate this darkness. My brows furrow slightly, _where is that light coming from?_ This time I venture forward leading the way in curiosity but my hand stays connected with Troy, pulling him along. It's like I can sense a smug smile growing on Troy's face but I am too intrigued with this light in the distance to care.

I push away an overgrown branch that had grown onto the little path. My eyes put together what the light was and I immediately gasp and clamp my hands over my mouth in shock at this beautiful scenery. My eyes even begin to tear up a little. _God, I'm such an emotional person._

There was a clearance in the trees. The trees formed a circle round this small clearance. It was only small, just a bit bigger than the picnic blanket Troy set out on the ground. In the trees, Troy hung some battery operated fairy lights that contrasted with this dark sky night perfectly. There was quite a lot of fairy lights that it illuminated the blanket so it had a nice dim warm light vibe to it. A rose was placed in the middle of the blanket and a few cushions and blankets were randomly scattered in the middle.

It was like a tumblr picture. Troy can sure be a complete romantic.

Troy stood next to me looking at my face with a big grin on his face. His eyes looked me over and noticed the happy tears in my eyes. He pulled me into his side and I simply let myself fall into his side continuing to take in this scenery as my hands were still pressed against my mouth.

"Hey, I don't want no tears," Troy chuckled.

Why I was even close to crying? I don't really know. But for a good 9 years of my childhood I had been on my own with family that I rarely see and friends that were all roughly the same age as me with practically no money and not a lot of contact with their family either. We did try to make each other feel special but it was nothing like this.

I had never felt this special, this well treated, this cared for. And just like that, he had taken my heart.  
Troy led me down to the blankets and sat me down as I finally pulled down my hands from my mouth and looked around the place with a soft smile on my lips and the reflection of the lights in my eyes.

I looked back at Troy to see him with a Nikon camera pointed at me snapping a few pictures.

"Hey!" I whine. I immediately blush and lunge forward slightly trying to get the camera off of him but he simply moved it out of my reach and looked back at the photos.

"What? You looked too adorable, I just couldn't help myself," He replies with a cute grin on his face as he looks back at the photos.

"Troy how did you find this? When did you plan all this?" I ask him as I let my legs rest beside me leaning on my arm dropping the subject of the photo...he has taken many other photos like that on our other dates so you sort of just get used to it.

"I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve," Troy replies with a wink and I simply smile and look down at the ground.

Troy unpacks our food from the restaurant which is still warm and we take out the plastic knifes and forks that we bought on the way over and begin to eat up our food. _Now's a good time to ask._

"Troy?" I begin as I look at him. He looks up at me holding eye contact with me urging me to continue.

"What was on that piece of paper in the restaurant?" I ask him. He looks at me and I can tell he is having a mental debate with himself on whether he should really tell me. But I give him a look that he obviously cannot deny. A 'I-want-to-know' look.

"You really want to know?" He asks me and I nod.

"That Lana girls phone number, she also asked her to meet her in the back or whatever which I thought was fucking ridiculous as I was obviously there with you. And I wouldn't change that for the world," He adds sugar coating that bad news. _Well, guess I just lost all that respect for Lana that I had._

"Don't you ever think that I would be unfaithful Gabriella alright? Whilst I am dating you, I am truly yours," He tells me which sets off a smile on my face making me forget all about that situation in the restaurant. He pecks my lips and we tuck into our meal.

We talked, we laughed, we smiled.

It was the most perfect night.

We had finished our food and packed it away to the side. We were now just lying down on the blanket wrapped in each others arms looking up at the stars. It had been pretty silent for a while, but it was comfortable silence.

"Hey Gabriella," Troy started.

"Hmm?" I reply with too wrapped up in this lazy state/mood.

"Um," He takes a deep breath look pretty nervous and just like that I was snapped out of that lazy mood. I look up at him with my head still resting on his shoulder and begin to study his face. He doesn't look at me and continues to look at the stars.

"What is it?" I ask him now beginning to get nervous.

He sits up pulling me up with him, naturally. He turns to face me and our eyes lock. He interlocks our hands together and rests his forehead on mine looking deep into my eyes. And there it is, that look in his eyes that I could never quite recognise was bigger than ever. My breath hitched in my throat at the sight of it.

I could feel his hot breath plastered on my face and if we weren't sat down, I'm pretty sure my legs would have given in right there and then.

He leans down painfully slowly with his eyes fixed only on my lips that had parted slightly at his intense gaze.

He places a long soft kiss on my lip. It was soft and sweet. His soft lip lingered on top of mine and my eyes closed at this rush of happiness over coming me. He pulled apart and looked back into my eyes. This intense gaze that made me feel weak inside.

"Gabriella, I-," Troy began before cutting himself short. _He what? He wants to break up? Nooo, you don't kiss someone like that if you are going to break up with them right? But it could be a goodbye kiss? He's cheating on me? He don't like me anymore? Oh god, what?!_

"I've been thinking about it for a while and what I have been feeling around you is like nothing I have felt before. I didn't know what it was at first and I have been trying to figure it out and I have only come to one conclusion," Troy adds finally finding his voice. I gulp slightly feeling totally at his will. My eyes stare deep into his.

"Which is?" I barely whisper. Troy pauses for a second looking down at me. He cups my face in his palm and strokes my cheek gently with his thumb. He takes in a deep breath and breathes out...

"I love you"

 _H-He loves me? I feel as if my world is spinning. He finally has my heart, yes. But was it truly love just yet._ He continues to stare at me deep into my eyes looking for a reaction but I feel my throat close up on me. I felt so nervous all of a sudden, well I've always been nervous around Troy but this was taking it to a whole new level.

"Really?" Was all I could manage to get out my mouth. Troy chuckles and nods his head.

"I love it how your nose scrunches up every time you laugh, I love your laugh in general, I love your voice, I love your Independence but I also love how you can sometimes be quite dependent on other people without you really realising it, I love how you can order a burger and finish it without feeling guilty, I love how understanding you are, I love your athletic side, I love...you," He finishes and I feel a tear fall over the edge of my eye. He can be so sweet and so cheesy and so romantic. No one has ever said anything like that to me.

"Say something," He adds as I simply sat their in silence looking at this god like man in front of me. He's so perfect, so sweet, what did I do to deserve him? I scan over every single feature of his face studying them all and it's like, all the messed up jigsaw puzzles in my head finally falls into place.

"You know, I have been told a lot about you Troy. Your reputation has a really big impact in the school's social circle and to be honest I have only had my heart broken once: when my dad died. I have had to piece it back together on my own back in England. And so, I was determined to keep my heart away from you as I couldn't let someone else have that power over me. The power to simply crush my heart at a slight slip up. But what I didn't realise was that... you had my heart all along," I tell him as I feel another tear roll down my cheek. He looks at me and wipes the tear away.

He presses his lip against mine and our tongues lock together giving each other our all as I wrap my arms around his neck trying to pull him as close to me as I possibly can. He keeps one hand cupping my face and that other on my waist pulling me against him.

I finally realise that, that look in his eyes that I couldn't identify...it was love.

We pulled away when our lungs were practically burning for air. We rest our foreheads against one another with big huge grins on our faces. I finally face my feelings and realise my true feelings for Troy...

"I love you too"

 **A/N: Goddddd this chapter was so long to post as it kept going all fuzzy and what not. Sorry it's a bit late but I haven't really had a lot of free time in the past 2 weeks to write. My updates will either be twice a week or once a week depending on my schedule. You know the drill, reviewwww! It honestly helps loads!**

 **Title: Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley (The song I plan on having as my first dance song on my wedding...I'm not engaged...heck I don't even have a boyfriend XD A girl can dream)**


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